New group attacks Ted Cruz as a false prophet

With less than two weeks until the Iowa caucuses, a newly formed outside group has launched with the mission of taking down Ted Cruz.

The group, which is called Americans United for Values, is releasing a 60-second radio advertisement in Iowa that harshly criticizes Cruz, who is rivaling Donald Trump as the front-runner in the state but suddenly finds himself under pressure.

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The organization, which says it is considering airing additional ads in the coming days, takes a unique approach to attacking Cruz — accusing the Texas senator of disingenuously positioning himself as an evangelical-friendly candidate. In doing so, it aims to take one of Cruz’s chief strengths — his connection to the Christian community — and turn it into a weakness.

Near the beginning of the commercial, it cites a POLITICO report from December that Cruz said at a New York fundraiser that he wouldn’t make combating gay marriage a top priority.

“I saw something about Ted Cruz. About how gay marriage wouldn’t be a top priority for him,” a female voice-over says.

“I saw that, too. He said it at a New York fundraiser. He tells them one thing, tells Iowa another,” another female voice-over says.

The commercial also highlights a 2012 report that, between 2006 and 2010, Cruz gave a little more than $44,000 — or less than 1 percent of his income — to charity.

“I also heard he gives less than 1 percent to charity and church,” one of the female voice-overs says.

“He doesn’t tithe? Isn’t he a millionaire? His wife worked for a big Wall Street bank, right?” another says.

Before the spot concludes, one of the voice-overs calls Cruz “phony.”

A Cruz spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Americans United for Values, which is overseen by veteran Republican strategist Nick Everhart, is spending $125,000 to air the commercial statewide on news-talk, sports and Christian-themed radio stations. The purchase is relatively small, with many groups spending millions on the Iowa airwaves.

But the attack comes at a perilous time for Cruz, who is trying to protect the narrow lead he holds over Trump in some recent Iowa polls. He suffered a blow on Monday, when Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad pointedly criticized Cruz and when Sarah Palin endorsed Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.

Also on Tuesday, a pro-Marco Rubio super PAC began airing a commercial describing Cruz as “consistently calculated.” And a pro-Rand Paul super PAC launched an ad describing Cruz as a “phony” conservative.